Language of Spring

As one of the oldest cycling clubs in the world the Anfield has an amazing history. The early members in the 1880 and 1890s helped to shape competitive long distance cycling and time-trialing, and today the Club hosts the longest running time trial in the country. With its unbroken history and continuous run of Club 'Circulars', the Anfield Bicycle Club's story is of great interest to cycling enthusiasts, and everybody interested in sporting heritage. Tucked away in the archives, and now brought to light in this book, the Circulars also provide a unique commentary on the social history of the First and Second World Wars. Spanning the history of cycling, this unique collection of photographs, documents and ephemera celebrates the club's amazing pictorial heritage and paints a remarkable picture from the pioneering years of record breaking and racing to the present day. Founder members included George Pilkington Mills, the greatest cyclist of his day. He held Lands End to John O'Groats records on various machines, won the first Bordeaux to Paris race and inspired the Tour de France. Others were Lawrence Fletcher, who helped form the CTC; John Houlding, the father of Liverpool Football Club, MP, brewer and the ABC's second President; J. D. Siddeley (Lord Kenilworth), motor car and aircraft manufacturer; D. C. Rowatt, owner of Liverpool's main tobacco importing business; W. P. Cook, national cycling administrator, and First World War fund-raiser; and the cycling journalist W. M. Robinson (Wayfarer), who inspired a generation of cyclists in the 1920s.In 2013 the Heritage Lottery Fund awarded the ABC a grant to conserve and share the collection. For digital output and more information visit www.anfieldbc.co.uk.